they did. but this isnt normal. the only snow that usually happens is in the mountains...for southern california. coming from los angeles county if a freak of nature happened and snow / slush happened it was only down for a couple hours if that and it was gone.

the only way for So. Cal'ers to get snow is to hit the mountain. something i only did twice in my 35 years before moving here. thats just my experience. now its very different in parts of northern california as well as some parts of central.

_________________Love is not blind - it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less.

Complaining is good for you as long as you're not complaining to the person you're complaining about.

with much interest I've read this topic. We (my husband, my eight year old son and myself) are moving to PEI this year from The Netherlands!We've been to several provinces of Canada and fell in love with PEI. If you like, I'll keep you posted on the move and the, problably very different, life we are going to live.

We have not decided on a town yet. First my husband needs a job (carpenter) and my son needs an elementary school. Then we'll decide where is the best place to live for us. Therefore I have a question for you about the schools on PEI: Are there Waldorf, Rudolf Steiner or Montessori elementary schools? Or are there similar schoolsystems? I've been searching the web but couldn't find it.

There seems to be a lot of new building going on, so your husband should have no trouble finding work.

Being a senior with no children and over fifty years since I attended school all I can say is that it is a public school system. It seems to me I have heard of Montessori but believe it is a private school. I am sure other members of PEIinfo can give you better information than I.

It is always interesting to hear the stories of newcomers to the Island so by all means, keep us informed.

good luck on your move. I moved here from So. Cal 7 1/2 years ago and love it. it is so nice to have "seasons". I still find joy in all the snow we get. but i have to say, now when there is still snow on the ground in April im done. lol.

I also find myself now very disappointed if we dont have a white christmas. last year wasnt the best for a snowy christmas. how one can change in only a few year. I dont know how i thought having a rainy christmas was the best when growing up....white is so much better!

when are you moving?

Well, we just arrived about a week ago (yes, during the windstorm haha!) and I have to say I love it! Very nice not to have to navigate LA traffic every day. And to the other poster, yes, my parents in NorCal got 8 inches of snow on the 9th, quite unprecedented for their location in the foothills. Thanks for the good wishes

After watching all the horror stories on TV around the globe and the wild weather, (flooding in LA, cold and wind in the midwest, China the UK and Haiti), I think we should consider ourselves very fortunate living here in PEI. We had a green Christmas and now we are headed towards the end of January and no major snowstorms, and it is supposed to be very mild on Monday. I can't think of anywhere else I would want to be right now, at least it's safe here.

_________________Opinions are personal, and everybody is entitled to voice them.

Howdy, folks.New to the board, but know a couple members here. Also still relatively new to the Province. Moved over from Halifax-and although it might only be 350km from there, it feels like a whole different universe. We love it here so much, and had only came over for my wife to attend Holland College-but now we aren't really looking to leave any time soon.It's a bit of a system shock to get used to the different pace of things and way of life here-but definitely loving it. We moved over at the end of April '09, and even though we had been over a bunch of times during march and april to view apartments etc. we were really spoiled by most of the start of our experience here on the island in the spring and summer. Winter is ok, not much different weather wise than hfx. really-less rain though for sure and that's a plus.I don't miss too much from hfx at all really except for a few things that don't exist over here-but that's minor. Hell, we even dislike going back to halifax now, lol.Anyway, good to see a local forum that's somewhat active! Looking forward to posting more.

Howdy, folks.New to the board, but know a couple members here. Also still relatively new to the Province. Moved over from Halifax-and although it might only be 350km from there, it feels like a whole different universe. We love it here so much, and had only came over for my wife to attend Holland College-but now we aren't really looking to leave any time soon.It's a bit of a system shock to get used to the different pace of things and way of life here-but definitely loving it. We moved over at the end of April '09, and even though we had been over a bunch of times during march and april to view apartments etc. we were really spoiled by most of the start of our experience here on the island in the spring and summer. Winter is ok, not much different weather wise than hfx. really-less rain though for sure and that's a plus.I don't miss too much from hfx at all really except for a few things that don't exist over here-but that's minor. Hell, we even dislike going back to halifax now, lol.Anyway, good to see a local forum that's somewhat active! Looking forward to posting more.

Welcome to the board!

I'm from Halifax too but unlike you, I miss it and LOVE going over whenever I can.

I think Halifax is a fascinating city and has lots of history associated with it and the downtown is really great. However, the rising crime rate over there presents a negative opinion on the City even though it happens in Dartmouth and in the suburbs or wherever.

Charlottetown is much smaller and yes the pace of life a lot slower, but I think once people get here and experience that, it takes a while for their bodies to adjust. No screaming ambulance and sirens going off night and day, people actually smile and look you in the eye and say hello.

I remember working for a national company who had people transfer in from Halifax, Toronto, Montreal, etc. At first they felt like they had landed on a different planet. However, when it came time to transfer again back to the big cities, they and their families didn't want to go. As a result we have a lot of transported Islanders who CHOSE to live here. For those Islanders who think they are missing out, just check out the hundreds who have left to go out west. They make big bucks but they really miss home and the Island way of life. That is what makes us special, we really care about the place and each other.

_________________Opinions are personal, and everybody is entitled to voice them.

with much interest I've read this topic. We (my husband, my eight year old son and myself) are moving to PEI this year from The Netherlands!We've been to several provinces of Canada and fell in love with PEI. If you like, I'll keep you posted on the move and the, problably very different, life we are going to live.

We have not decided on a town yet. First my husband needs a job (carpenter) and my son needs an elementary school. Then we'll decide where is the best place to live for us. Therefore I have a question for you about the schools on PEI: Are there Waldorf, Rudolf Steiner or Montessori elementary schools? Or are there similar schoolsystems? I've been searching the web but couldn't find it.

with much interest I've read this topic. We (my husband, my eight year old son and myself) are moving to PEI this year from The Netherlands!We've been to several provinces of Canada and fell in love with PEI. If you like, I'll keep you posted on the move and the, problably very different, life we are going to live.

We have not decided on a town yet. First my husband needs a job (carpenter) and my son needs an elementary school. Then we'll decide where is the best place to live for us. Therefore I have a question for you about the schools on PEI: Are there Waldorf, Rudolf Steiner or Montessori elementary schools? Or are there similar schoolsystems? I've been searching the web but couldn't find it.

Hi all, thanks for the response! I will look into the schools and hopefully I will find a great one for my son. We are still in The Netherlands at the moment. The Canadian Embassy in Berlin has sent us a request for more information. So it does take some time to finally get the Permanent Resident Card.With the situation as it is, also our financial situation and the selling of our house in The Netherlands, we will be moving to PEI at the end of the year. Maybe even January 2011. In the meantime, we're viewing PEI's beautiful homes for sale on the internet and dreaming about owning one in a while.We don't know if we will be able to visit PEI for the summer, we definitely want to but traveling is expensive. Too bad, we miss PEI everyday and it would be great to visit some schools and maybe some future work employers.Well, I will keep you posted on our immigration.Goodnight for now (it's midnight overhere).Anneke

Hello to all you islanders and all you new islanders "from away"! My wife and I are considering a move from Saskatchewan to PEI. Why? Because she is originally from PEI and would like to return after 25 plus years away... and I'd also love to experience the island charm and explore the east coast. I've been browsing these forums looking for others from SK, but have not found any, so we might be unique?!

We're currently experiencing one of our wettest springs/summers ever, so are becoming climatized! With the wet weather, we're also experiencing our worst year ever for mosquitos.... walk 10 feet and you are covered by 100 of them. We're tired of SK winters.... often colder than minus 30 C, sometimes down to minus 45 C and with howling winds it's not uncommon to have bone numbing minus 50's and 60's, so we are looking forward to much milder weather.

We'll both need to find work, so we're wondering where the busiest places are at this time? Where's the most construction activity? I've had years of running various machinery in the oilfield and mining industries as well as some construction experience. She's spent over 20 years as an excellent Hair Stylist who's clientelle will be sad to see her leave.

Looking forward to reading your responses and eventually meeting some of you in person (or at least smiling and saying hello as we pass on the street)

Welcome Shayk, and good luck with your move. There is a wealth of stuff that's been posted here in the recent past regarding moving and work-- while I'm sure you'll get a number of replies, may I suggest getting back into the old posts on here-- lots to look at. Transplanted to the Island ourselves from Ohio, although my family is originally from upwest (Bloomfield/Rosebank.)

I'm from Ontario but I have lived out on Vancouver Island for over a year. Now I want to try living out on the other side of Canada. I've been to PEI a couple of times already and stayed in Charlottetown. Also went to Cavendish because everyone says you have to go see the Anne of Green Gables house even though I never read the book or watched it on TV. It was a nice place. I checked out the boardwalk and the vantage point watching the sunset.

The first time my intention was just to visit and check it out. I thought the place was amazing. I liked how well kept the whole island seemed to be and the different coloured houses they have. I wanted to go horseback riding out there but I had came just at the end of tourist season so it was a no go. I just had a great time and thought that would be a nice place to live.

The second time I went it rained almost the whole time I was there. It was pretty miserable. I was also checking rents and for jobs. Rents are pretty cheap I have to admit. But maybe thats because the minimum wage is one of the lowest in Canada. And apparently the island basically shuts down in the winter. Thats what locals told me. They all go on EI during the winter months. Job wise there is really not much in my field. I got kind of bored and lazy when I was there. Things tend to close early there and I was walking around at night trying to find a place to get food and all I could find was a convenience store. I also had some guy trying to bum money off me. In fairness I told him where I was trying to go and he did take me there so I gave him 5 bucks. I was surprised to see some homeless people there. The hostel I stayed at was booked solid one night and so they let me sleep in the gamesroom. And at 2 in the morning all the party people came in and so I couldn't sleep. In the morning the place was like a freezer. I was feeling sick and just was overall bummed out.

So I had one good experience and one not so good. I still would be willing to go there because I like the idea of living on an island. I already lived on Vancouver Island twice now. Once in Victoria and once in Campbell River. But job wise Vancouver Island sucked. I wonder if they hold it against me being from Ontario. And if they do that there then PEI might also do it too. Locals over non locals.

When I visited Victoria I loved the place just like I did PEI. But then when I lived there I started seeing the ugly side of Victoria. Lots of homeless, drug dealers, drunks and hookers. I always got hassled when I just wanted to walk to the store.

But despite the bad experiences anywhere is better than where I'm from. That would be Mississauga, the most boring and depressing city in Canada. The city they built around a shopping mall. Where you have to drive everywhere, there is no charm, no downtown. Its like a storage unit for Toronto. It's so boring here that we don't even have a daily newspaper despite being almost a million people here. The traffic is horrible now. Its all big corporations, ugly, theres no community, people are unfriendly. My friends are all gone too so there is no reason for me to stay here.

So I am still interested in giving it a go in PEI. I know from experience that visiting and living are two different things. So really the only way I will know if I will like it is by doing it. At least this time I have a car and its a stationwagon so I can sleep in the car if I have no place to go.

But despite the bad experiences anywhere is better than where I'm from. That would be Mississauga

We're from the GTA, too. Spent a couple of years in a small city in Manitoba before moving here.

If it helps, when we were contemplating our first move from Toronto, we calculated that the cost of moving, living there, finding out we hated it, then moving everything back was about 6 months of living expenses in Toronto. In other words, it only took about 6 months for the cost of having moved to a cheaper place to break even with just staying in Toronto paying more per month. But thereafter of course, living in MB would be much cheaper per month.

As long as we stayed at least 6 months in MB, the experiment of moving there would have been cheaper than not doing it. We decided that we could endure middle-of-nowhere Manitoba for 6 months, so it made perfect financial sense to move.

Can you perform a similar calculation? How long would you have to stick it out in order that the costs of moving paid for themselves in cheaper rent? That can at least give you numerical basis for your decision and the security of knowing that as long as you stayed that long, you could change your mind later but yet still have saved money.

That being said, we love Summerside (of course, we're a little older and settled and can entertain ourselves so we don't mind that it's smaller) and we finally got to spend a day hanging out in Charlottetown and loved that, too. Charlottetown felt kind of like Whitby, actually. It's as much city as anyone could really need.

I think it's been said here that the people who feel most that they can't fit in because they're not from here are those who move to smaller communities, not Charlottetown. I think Charlottetown has a very nice vibe for young adults who don't need a big city Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver environment. If I were looking to live in a "city" again, I wouldn't hesitate to choose Charlottetown.

What line of work are you in, lpbrian? PEI doesn't have the greatest job market in the country, but it's not as bad as some suggest. We do have a seasonal economy and some people do get laid off at the same time each year but many of those people would work in seasonal tourist businesses, fish plants or with farmers. We have an up and coming bioscience sector and a decent IT sector on the Island. There are also a few call centres in Charlottetown if you are just looking for a quick job. The summer months are the best time to live here, so best hurry up!

Maybe our winters in the past used to be considered awful, but we had a milder winter than most of the rest of Canada this past year. We were golfing in April and the little snow that we had was long gone. Can't say that about the west or other parts of Canada, this year anyway.

And we don't die from the HEAT in summer like many other parts, we always have a nice ocean breeze, so that counts for a lot. We do get more wind then central Canada, but no tornadoes or floods, so take your pick and see what you would rather. I, for one, would prefer PEI, nothing too dramatic but cooler in summer and milder in winter, as that is what seems to be the case in the last few years.

_________________Opinions are personal, and everybody is entitled to voice them.